HIGHLIGHTS

Very few players from the associate nations get to showcase their talents at the world stage against the best of the lot. The chances are limited and you have to grab them when they come and the one's who do, are instant hits and then there are no shortage of admirers.

So, last year, when Sunrisers Hyderabad grabbed Rashid Khan for Rs 4 crore at the auction, he had a similar impact in world cricket and the media. Indian Premier League sides like a little bit of mystery around them and the same happened when Kolkata Knight Riders bought Sunil Narine in 2012. He was a 'magician' and nobody had any clue what he was doing. The next three years, he had picked up 24, 22 and 21 wickets respectively and till now he is KKR's most potent weapon despite his numerous change in actions and lack of teeth recently.

Similarly, the same was expected from Rashid when he was bought by the then champions for a hefty fee for a relatively young and unknown commodity in world cricket. But, he was given a shot as the likes of Tom Moody, VVS Laxman and Muttiah Muralitharan were extremely impressed with the kid. And, he paid back in kind. Rashid grabbed 17 wickets last season and he was talk of the town. Since then, he has gone on to achieve loads of laurels for his country. He became the fastest to reach 100 ODI wickets (44 matches), the youngest to captain his country (19 years and 165 days) and much more.

This season getting Rashid back on their side was a no-brainer for SRH and he didn't come cheap. After a bidding war between Kings XI Punjab, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals, Rashid finally went to Preity Zinta's team for Rs 9 crore but Hyderabad decided to retain him by using the Right to Match (RTM) card. He was their key man leading up to IPL 2018 and he hasn't disappointed. The 19-year-old started slowly but picked up steam as the tournament rolled on and almost took them to the final, when he picked up 2/11 from his four overs versus Chennai Super Kings. But, a Faf du Plessis special took CSK over the line at the Wankhede Stadium. He eventually finished with 21 wickets this season, the second most behind KXIP's Andrew Tye.

Indiatoday.in spoke to former CSK and New Zealand all-rounder and an expert at Star Sports Select Dugout Scott Styris about the Afghani's brilliant bowling and why batsmen still struggle to pick him despite so much technology being available to them. He says that batsmen still failing to read him doesn't surprise him one bit and then goes on to explain why it's easier said than done.

"I'm not surprised one little bit. The reason I'm not surprised is this game is not played by robots. It's played by people. People make errors and people do things on their day. That's the whole beauty of sports. If success against Rashid was simply about watching a computer screen. Everybody and anybody could go out there and play against Rashid and have success. But it' not. It takes a lot of skill and that is the part that people at home don't understand, the skills these guys have today is fantastic. Bowlers and batsman.

"All the research that you do, analytics as a player and a coaching staff is just giving you is what is better odds to success. Doesn't guarantee success and that's the thing to remember. Just because you watch Rashid, it doesn't guarantee you success against him. He is doing the same to you, let's not forget. He is watching and looking for your weaknesses and he will look to exploit that too. So, that's why we watch it. It's a theatre that is unfolding before us," said Styris on the sidelines of Star Sports Select Dugout.

Another former great, who has been impressed with Rashid and his national team partner Mujeeb Ur Rahman is Anil Kumble. Much like Rashid, Mujeeb was bought by KXIP for a fee of Rs 4 crore in the IPL 2018 auction and since then he has impressed everyone with his variations and wizardry. The 17-year-old, who learnt to bowl spin from seeing videos of R Ashwin, has been one of the standouts in this tournament and picked up 14 wickets at an economy rate of 6.99. And, the former India coach thinks that he has been brilliant but he goes on to add that Rajasthan Royals' Ish Sodhi and Delhi's Nepali import Sandeep Lamichhane have been equally good.

"Rashid Khan and Mujeeb have been really impressive. The Indian spinners as well. Ish Sodhi has been brilliant. I thought even Lamichhane was brilliant for Delhi. 17-year-old coming in the IPL and showcase what he has been able to is brilliant. Even the young Indian spinners have really bowled well. So it's been a spinner's tournament and a wicket-keepers tournament. So its totally about wicketkeepers and spinners, that has been the partnership with the bat and with the ball. So yeah! Its been wonderful to see all these spinners bowl these googlies and variations," said Kumble.

When asked if the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have been a tad disappointing overall in this year's IPL, Kumble said that he doesn't think so because expectations have risen from them and their lack of return in terms of wickets have caused people to question them. Otherwise, they have done good as well.

"I don't think so. T20 is all about hitting you. Some days you win, some days you don't. It's just that they are key bowlers and the expectations are far higher. And even as batsman, you tend to take that much more time with these spinners. I don't think they have gone for too many runs but they haven't picked up wickets because the batsmen have probably been a bit circumspect...otherwise I think they have done well," said the former India captain.

The duo also spoke about their experience of the 'The Dugout' -- which has been unique in some way.

"I've done world feed for the last three years. It is like calling the action as you see it. You don't get much time on actually what's actually going on in the game. Because you don't havee too much time to elaborate on one thing because you have so many things to get through. Therefore the enjoyable part about 'The Dugout' is that you don't necessarily have to call the action ball by ball. You just let the pictures display the story and you can elaborate and give your thoughts on what's the batsman is thinking or the bowler is trying to do or the field set about. What the tactics will be.

"There is a lot more enjoyment from it from our perspective because of the ability to elaborate of the way the game is shaping. Because T20 is the most tactical of all the versions of the game. So it lends itself to 'The Dugout' because we can sit there and strategise and backed up with lot of analytics and lot of good guys behind the scene. What we are hoping to do is educate the viewer as well on what they are watching and because of that it's enjoyable for us to," said Styris.

"I have done a bit of commentary but this is very unique. The concept is unique, you get a feel of being in the game. Also a lot of opportunities to give your inputs and also the demo zone has been brilliant as well. So it's a great learning experience for me but I have thoroughly enjoyed it," Kumble added.

Get real-time alerts and all the news on your phone with the all-new India Today app. Download from